This year's volleyball season was phenomenal, at least for me. We started the season roughly 2 months ago and I can say that our team has improved both individually and as a team, on and off the court. Last week was my last ISAC Volleyball tournament, and even if we missed the gold medal by a hair, I still think it was a great tournament, and one that I will remember for the rest of my life (although I am still contemplating whether or not this will benefit me)
At the start of the season, I set up some goals for myself which were if I'm not mistaken to vary my setting techniques, improve my leadership and communication, and strengthen relationships with my teammates (which includes setting a good example for the younger ones who will take my place when i graduate). Although I had some minor setbacks throughout the season such as, not moving quick enough, not using my legs when I set, or having minor arguments with one of my teammates, I managed (I think) to clean it all up towards the end of the season, especially during the ISAC tournament. I think my setting was inconsistent for the first part of the season, with my setting being alright in Hong Kong, then going down on a slump for a few weeks in LSMS, then having a few good games at home, then eventually reaching the level that I wanted to get to by ISAC. This year we emphasized less on high-risk "shoot" sets, onto "stack" plays. I also noticed that this year, I did a lot more back sets than last year. I think accomplished my goal for setting by ISAC, especially during the last few games of the tournament as I was able to make better decisions, and set the ball at the right height and even sneaking in a couple of "jump-sets" during the games. Ths year, William and I were also voted as captains. This presented a big responsibility for William and myself, and occasionally we would lack some initiative and leadership when our team is not doing so well, but for the most part, I believe that I did my part as a captain, making sure everyone was doing their part, making sure that I know the ins and outs of the team regarding conflicts and drama and all that, and I believe that I encouraged more than discouraged my teammates. Lastly, I believe that I did my part in influencing Brian, potentially next year's setter, in decision making, aggressiveness, and leadership and communicating skills on the court. I know that I did my part in preparing Brian for next year's season and I hope he does as well or better than me in the future. I also roomed with him during ISAC, which gave us a chance to connect in other ways and strengthen our friendship. Other things such the tournament in Hong Kong, as well as LSMS trips and the ISAC tournament were opportunities that did bring me closer to my teammates when we're playing on the court as well as times when we were just hanging around and having fun, making jokes and playing games with each other. I do believe that I have gained the respect of my teammates as a captain and as a friend, and vice versa which has made me enjoy the sport even more than just the game itself, and I believe being the captain has set me up to build better relationships with some of my teammates such as Ji Woo or John An who I didn't really get the chance to get close with the year before.
ISAC Volleyball Tournament 2011
ISAC Volleyball 2011 was a blast. From day one the team was looking forward to a great tournament. I saw some old faces from last year, and some new ones and I was anxious to see the level competition in this year's tournament. My confidence for our team was high, and I felt ready. On the first day of the tournament, we had 3 games against, CIS, BSM and FAM. We played well in all 3 games, ending the first day with a 3-0 record without losing a set. We had one or two nerve-wracking sets, but we managed to pull ourselves together to recieve, set, and finally spike the ball to victory. It was a tiring first day. The second day, we only had 2 games, but it was a tough one, since we played Baguio (our rival) in the afternoon. The first game was against SISC. We played well since the other team could not block, or hit hard consistently since they were mostly 13 or 14 year olds from my observations. Because the opponent was less threatening in this game, I even got to play as a hitter, which I really, really, REALLY enjoyed. I managed to get 3 kills, with one cross-court hit. It was a glorious moment for me. Everyone else played really well and we used this game to gain our confidence for the next game. At around 1pm, we had our game with Brent Baguio. Suddenly things changed. Until this point, we were cruising through the tournament, but now we have a bigger challenge ahead of us. I met Kenneth Taguiba (Baguio's setter) in the bathroom before the game and he said "Let's make it nice." This really stuck in my head and I really wanted to do what he said, "make it nice." After the blow of the whistle, the game started. Baguio was a loud team, they talked a lot, celebrated with every point, and they try to go for every ball. Although we were ahead for most of the first set, we eventually let Baguio catch up and they beat us. The second set was the same. In this game, the team worked really well at first, and we were also loud on the court, but when we started losing I can see the fear and nervousness in my teammates eyes, and in some moments, even myself, making me miss a crucial serve towards the end of the 2nd set. This was something that needed to be changed before we faced them again. It was a close fight, but we lost both sets. The next day, we played against the host team, Brent Manila. I think in this game, our team sort of underestimated the other team, and I didn't play my best game as well. They got as close as 20-25 in the first set, but luckily, we were able to have a better 2nd set, which moved our team to the semi finals. We played the semi finals in the afternoon against BSM. They were different in our second encounter with them, they seemed more confident, louder and even a little intimidating. They were ahead at first, but we quickly took the lead after a time-out and eventually won the first set. The second set, we played a much better game and eventually won the match 2 sets to none. We made it. We were in the finals again, but this year we knew we were the better team and we knew we could take the championship. My mindset took a big shift after we made the finals, and even more so when it was nearing game time. We were supportive of our girl's team who lost in the finals against Brent Manila, but I wanted to win it for them, for my teammates, for my coaches, for my school, and for myself. Things got serious for me in the finals, and I was in deep focus before the game started. After the shaking of hands, the big "Razorbacks" cheer, some motivational words and advice from my coaches, and the blow of the whistle, it was time to start the game. In the first set, Baguio started off with the lead, but then we quickly regrouped after a timeout and eventually took a steady lead until the final points of the set (as usual), with Baguio taking the set at 25-23. The second set was different, the whole atmosphere of our team changed, and it seemed like our loss in the first set, drove us to fight harder and push ourselves further in the second set. There was even one point in time where I hit the ball after the whistle was blown out of excitement. During the time out, my coach (Mr T) told me some words of advice that he later repeated after our game, which I believe is the quote that has affected me the most out of the whole season. Some of my teammates caught on fire, like Cyron who was hitting his best in this set out of the whole season. I was FIRED UP and we took the set convincingly at 25-16 (if I'm not mistaken) and the best part was, we were all having FUN. Before we started the 3rd set, the captains, Kenneth (from Baguio) and myself had to do the coin toss again to decide on ball possession and court. As he walked toward the referee and myself, I could see the look of despair on his face, as if he already lost. This made me stronger and motivated me more to end this game faster. We started the 3rd set with the same energy as the 2nd set, with spectacular plays and unbelievable saves (especially one from Milo, our libero). I was getting more and more fired up, but at the same time I could feel myself tiring. When score was 22-17, and I could picture myself holding the 1st place trophy, pulling up the banners that said "ISAC Boys Volleyball Champions 2011" and time was going really slow. Our coach called the last time out of the game, and he was fired up as well. He wanted us to keep playing the way we were playing and to finish the game. The front row at this point were all the seniors in the team: Jack, William and myself. I was determined for victory. But everything seemed to go so fast after that; missed serves, wrong sets, holding back on hits and everything seemed to be going wrong. However, I still didn't feel like we were going to lose when the score was tied again at 24 a piece. Unfortunately, our team followed that with another missed serve, and a soft spike which ended up being blocked ending the match at 26-24 in Brent Baguio's favor. We had just lost the finals. When the final whistle blew, I felt like I was sinking into quicksand. I felt weak and frustrated and my heart sank, but I was still the captain and had to lead by example. We shook hands with the "champions" and that was it. After a while, it still hasn't sunk in that we had just lost the game despite a 22-17 lead, and I kept asking myself, "Did that just happen? Did we just lose the finals again?" It was a very confusing moment for me, but I knew sooner or later I had to accept it. When I saw my best friend, and teammate, William Ou, tear up towards me, I felt like crying with him. It was our last volleyball game and we lost, but at the same time I was trying to look at the positive side. "Second place isn't so bad." and plus, we played the best game of volleyball as a team of the whole season, and I believe I played my best game as a setter for the team. At that point, I realized that how much I love the game of volleyball, how it has affected my life in many ways, and has made me grow as a person. (I'll elaborate on that later) During the banquet, our coach started asking me if I was okay, and then he gave me some words that stood out that in a way summarized my role in the game of volleyball, and at the same time serves a reminder for everything that I do in life. He said, "never lose control." I believe those words have been my goal throughout my endeavors with the game of volleyball, although I haven't really realized it until that point and it's something that I should always think of with other aspects of my life and my priorities, such as school, my family (presently and the future), my relationships, my career in the future, and the list goes on. Volleyball has taught me many lessons and skills, both physically, and mentally. I've developed my skills as a setter, but I've also learned to follow instructions, accept and experience failures (in this case more than enough of it), build close relationships with people, and to be responsible and role model to other people, and lastly, to "never lose control". I will miss playing with this team and I will remember my experiences and apply what I have learned for the rest of my life. Looking on the bright side, I still got ISAC soccer and basketball coming up which gives me a chance for redemption! :)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Reflection: International Coastal Cleanup 2011
The planning of this year's International Coastal Cleanup actually had more workload involved compared to last years ICC, but because of we were much more aware of what was needed this year, and the fact that we started planning a little more than a month before the actual event, preparation went a lot smoother and was less stressful this year.
To start of, my personal task of being the Transportation manager was a little less hectic compared to being in charge of managing the people/volunteers last year. This year my main job was to simply wait for the volunteer managers to let me know the number of people who are going to be needing the school bus for transportation during the day of the event, divide them into sections, then finally pass the message to Mr Davis for him to handle the rest. However, I ended up doing more than just that. I also had to segregate the master list for the students who volunteered into their grade/sections and distribute the necessary amount of permission slips to their homeroom teachers and announcing the details for the event during chapel. I also ended up helping with the gathering of the supplies needed such as trash bags and latex gloves. In the end, the organizing committee were completely ready around a week before the actual event and I was just doing last minute checkups during my meetings with Ms Pascual. From what I heard, (since I wasn't able to make it to the event due to my ACET), it was raining very hard during the event, but people still stayed and cleaned up for a couple of hours.
It would've been nice to actually help clean up that day, and I was really looking forward to doing so, as Ocean Conservancy is something that is very important to me, growing up near a beach and being a big fan of marine animals. However, whenever I do to go a beach, or anywhere for that matter, I do try to pick up trash that's just lying around. Hopefully next year, if I am still in Subic or even anywhere in the world where the International Coastal Cleanup is taking place at, I can take part of this event and maybe even join the school again in this yearly event.
To start of, my personal task of being the Transportation manager was a little less hectic compared to being in charge of managing the people/volunteers last year. This year my main job was to simply wait for the volunteer managers to let me know the number of people who are going to be needing the school bus for transportation during the day of the event, divide them into sections, then finally pass the message to Mr Davis for him to handle the rest. However, I ended up doing more than just that. I also had to segregate the master list for the students who volunteered into their grade/sections and distribute the necessary amount of permission slips to their homeroom teachers and announcing the details for the event during chapel. I also ended up helping with the gathering of the supplies needed such as trash bags and latex gloves. In the end, the organizing committee were completely ready around a week before the actual event and I was just doing last minute checkups during my meetings with Ms Pascual. From what I heard, (since I wasn't able to make it to the event due to my ACET), it was raining very hard during the event, but people still stayed and cleaned up for a couple of hours.
It would've been nice to actually help clean up that day, and I was really looking forward to doing so, as Ocean Conservancy is something that is very important to me, growing up near a beach and being a big fan of marine animals. However, whenever I do to go a beach, or anywhere for that matter, I do try to pick up trash that's just lying around. Hopefully next year, if I am still in Subic or even anywhere in the world where the International Coastal Cleanup is taking place at, I can take part of this event and maybe even join the school again in this yearly event.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
(A)(S) Journal Entry #2 [Boy's Varsity Volleyball]
A lot has happened since my last journal entry, to summarize: Hong Kong tournament, a home game with Major Major, a weekend in Brent Manila for LSMS (League of Southern Manila Schools), a home game against a high school team (I'm not sure with the name), and another home game today against Gordon College. This weekend, the team will go to Brent Manila again to play in LSMS, however I won't be able to make it because I have to take an entrance exam for Ateneo this saturday.
Our team is slowly getting better, we've had "pockets" of good teamwork (receiving, setting, and hitting altogether as well as communication on the court). However, our team still hasn't reached the level that I believe we can play at and so does both our coaches. The team played well in Hong Kong and got to the finals, but our floor coverage wasn't exactly perfect, or at least as good as the other team, which is probably the reason they beat us although I believe that our team learned a lot from our games in Hong Kong. Outside of playing volleyball on the court, our team also had a lot of laughs and bonding time going around Hong Kong, having team dinners, having fun on the MTR's, taking pictures, shopping and all that so it was a good experience on and off the court. When we got back we played "Major Major", but our team for some reason was not "awake" in that game, and we all seemed "dead" on the court and despite the fact that the other team was at a higher level than us, we didn't even seem to try and fight back and keep up with them, even if we probably could've at least kept up with them in most of the sets. A few days later we played in LSMS, and again our team seemed to have difficulty in covering the court and receiving the ball which makes it hard for me to set up a good play, and come up with decent sets. Even I was getting frustrated with myself because I couldn't set correctly and I did a lot of things wrong such as set too low, and not move my feet fast enough to get under the ball. At the end of the day, we got the chance to play the APAC team. They were really good, but I believe that we could've kept up with them if we played our game. I think my best game for that day was against the APAC team because I really, really wanted to play well against them which actually shouldn't be the case since I should feel and think that way in every game.
Today, we played a game against Gordon College and we played well in some sets, but again our team wasn't consistent and were making careless mistakes (in my case it was serving). I do believe that we covered the court a bit better in our game today but I still think we can do better. Our second setter Brian is consistently improving, but I still think that it's part of my responsibility as a captain to help him out in not just his setting, but the way he takes control of the game (calling out plays, making sure everyones doing what they're supposed to, and encouraging teammates) because it's quality that I believe setters should have, and I hope he plays well this weekend while I'm away. Our coach called my attention today to remind me a few things that I agree I have to bring back to my game: Being light on my feet so that I can move around the court, to not watch the ball after I set and instead be alert for block support, and to polish up my setting by getting under the ball and keeping my hands up all the time. These are things that I believe I can bring back to my game, and I will try my best to do so, starting with our practices and eventually to our games. I feel like it's been a rough two weeks for the team, and especially myself, and this weekend will give (at least me), a chance to rest and start fresh next week. Hopefully I can be a complete setter as I and my team, and my coaches want me to be before ISAC comes.
Our team is slowly getting better, we've had "pockets" of good teamwork (receiving, setting, and hitting altogether as well as communication on the court). However, our team still hasn't reached the level that I believe we can play at and so does both our coaches. The team played well in Hong Kong and got to the finals, but our floor coverage wasn't exactly perfect, or at least as good as the other team, which is probably the reason they beat us although I believe that our team learned a lot from our games in Hong Kong. Outside of playing volleyball on the court, our team also had a lot of laughs and bonding time going around Hong Kong, having team dinners, having fun on the MTR's, taking pictures, shopping and all that so it was a good experience on and off the court. When we got back we played "Major Major", but our team for some reason was not "awake" in that game, and we all seemed "dead" on the court and despite the fact that the other team was at a higher level than us, we didn't even seem to try and fight back and keep up with them, even if we probably could've at least kept up with them in most of the sets. A few days later we played in LSMS, and again our team seemed to have difficulty in covering the court and receiving the ball which makes it hard for me to set up a good play, and come up with decent sets. Even I was getting frustrated with myself because I couldn't set correctly and I did a lot of things wrong such as set too low, and not move my feet fast enough to get under the ball. At the end of the day, we got the chance to play the APAC team. They were really good, but I believe that we could've kept up with them if we played our game. I think my best game for that day was against the APAC team because I really, really wanted to play well against them which actually shouldn't be the case since I should feel and think that way in every game.
Today, we played a game against Gordon College and we played well in some sets, but again our team wasn't consistent and were making careless mistakes (in my case it was serving). I do believe that we covered the court a bit better in our game today but I still think we can do better. Our second setter Brian is consistently improving, but I still think that it's part of my responsibility as a captain to help him out in not just his setting, but the way he takes control of the game (calling out plays, making sure everyones doing what they're supposed to, and encouraging teammates) because it's quality that I believe setters should have, and I hope he plays well this weekend while I'm away. Our coach called my attention today to remind me a few things that I agree I have to bring back to my game: Being light on my feet so that I can move around the court, to not watch the ball after I set and instead be alert for block support, and to polish up my setting by getting under the ball and keeping my hands up all the time. These are things that I believe I can bring back to my game, and I will try my best to do so, starting with our practices and eventually to our games. I feel like it's been a rough two weeks for the team, and especially myself, and this weekend will give (at least me), a chance to rest and start fresh next week. Hopefully I can be a complete setter as I and my team, and my coaches want me to be before ISAC comes.
(A)(S)Goals before Sept 17, 2011: International Coastal Cleanup
1) Announcement for Chapel Sept 7 and Sept 14 - done
2) Gather supplies from Ms Joyce and bring them to Ms Pascual's room - done
3) Check on transportation for 65 people - done
4) One last meeting to check on everything
5) Check if all permission slips are in and final tally of how many people are going
6) Clarify if transportation and supplies are ready for the actual day on Sept 16
2) Gather supplies from Ms Joyce and bring them to Ms Pascual's room - done
3) Check on transportation for 65 people - done
4) One last meeting to check on everything
5) Check if all permission slips are in and final tally of how many people are going
6) Clarify if transportation and supplies are ready for the actual day on Sept 16
Thursday, August 25, 2011
(A)(S)Goals before Aug 31, 2011: International Coastal Cleanup
Before August 27:
1) Take down any last minute students who want to join the ICC - done
2) Organize permission slips, segregate each grade level - done
3) Distribute them in each homeroom class, inform the teacher about which student's will need the form, and when it's due. - done
Before August 31:
1) Let Mr Davis know the final count for student who will be needing the bus as transportation - done
2) Purchase gloves & trash bags for student to use on the event - done
3) Clarify and recap if everything is set
1) Take down any last minute students who want to join the ICC - done
2) Organize permission slips, segregate each grade level - done
3) Distribute them in each homeroom class, inform the teacher about which student's will need the form, and when it's due. - done
Before August 31:
1) Let Mr Davis know the final count for student who will be needing the bus as transportation - done
2) Purchase gloves & trash bags for student to use on the event - done
3) Clarify and recap if everything is set
Monday, August 22, 2011
(A)(S) Journal Entry #1 [Boy's Varsity Volleyball]
Last week was the start of our first official practice. The team was cut down to eighteen people, and we started getting to know each other, and how we play on the court. The days of the week alternated between good practices, where the whole team was full of enthusiasm, which led us to play better, and not-so good practices, where we played with less energy, and did not communicate. We also had our first game last Friday, against Aura College. The first set, was a bit rough, with most of the opponents points coming not from their offense, but from our own mistakes. I actually did not get 2 out of 3 of my serves in because I was trying to do a "float" serve, in which I exerted more force and swung my hand with more speed, but with the wrong technique, leading to an overshoot for my serve. The first set started off not too great, but we eventually caught up, but we eventually lost the set by 2 points.My other teammates played for the 2nd and 3rd set, and I noticed a lot of my teammates were improving (even if we lost both sets again). In the 4th set, I played much better with my teammates, we communicated better, and I got my serves in this time. I was a lot more relaxed in this set. We ended up winning the 4th set. In the last set, some of my other teammates played again, they came close, but fell short once again, although a lot of my teammates were showing drastic changes in their awareness during the game.
For this coming week, I hope to continue working on my "float" serve, or even a jump serve, which I've been dreaming to learn and execute correctly during games. Another frustration that I would like to work on, is spiking. Even if I'm "vertically challenged," I hope to learn the proper technique and get some offense working for myself during the coming games, even for a short while (possibly when we play a 4-2 rotation). Lastly, I wish to continue learning how to set more gracefully, and get those terrible recieves up in the air, at the "open" area, by an underhand pass (something that I've been struggling with, and working on last week and last year as well).
Sunday, August 21, 2011
CAS Proposal Form 8 (International Coastal Cleanup 2011)
Student’s Name | Armand Mendoza | Supervisor’s Name | Ms. Pascual | |||
Year 12 | Activity Name | International Coastal Cleanup 2011 | ||||
Date(s) / Duration of Activity | September 2011 | |||||
What is my past experience with this activity?
Last year, I was part of the organizing committee for the ICC 2010. I was in charge of organizing the volunteers; getting them the permissions slips, spreading the event around at school, rounding them up and encouraging people to volunteer. On the actual day, I was also helping with the attendance of the volunteers and informing them on what they had to do that day. |
What new learning or skill do I hope to pick up or develop?
I hope to just give out a helping hand to the organizing committee since I am the only one in the committee this year who’s had a past experience with the ICC. Although I won’t be making it to the actual clean-up day, I hope to learn and develop my skill in communicating and organizing and meeting deadlines so that the logistics of the event will run smoothly. |
How will this experience be different from that of the past?
It will be different first of all, because this time I won’t actually make it to the day of the event itself so my efforts will be solely for preparation. However, I still hope to contribute and share my past experience from this event to make it easier for the newcomers in the organizing committee. |
How am I going to know if I am making progress in achieving the goal/s I have set?
Well, an obvious way to measure that I am making progress is if I am not scrambling around campus last minute, worrying about deadlines and reservations with transportation. If I truly did my job correctly and ahead of time, I should have nothing to worry about. On the day itself, transportation should not be a big confusion. |
Goals What is/are your goal/s for this activity? What do you hope to achieve?
My goals are to first contribute anything useless from what I learned from last year’s ICC to make things easier to organize. Second, is to of course organize the transportation of the event, make reservations for the buses on the day of the event, find out how many volunteers there will be and how they plan on getting there, and to make sure everything runs smoothly on the day. |
Impact Who will benefit from this activity? How?
The students will definitely enjoy and benefit from this activity, as it promotes teamwork, and encourages recycling, and positive habits such as segregating trash, and also raises awareness towards an ongoing global issue. Obviously, the world itself will benefit as millions of people will also be cleaning beaches worldwide, and hopefully it will pose a bigger impact on people, encouraging proper waste disposal. |
Timeline Where, how often, and for how long will the activity take place? (specific dates whenever possible)
Planning from August 17 to September 16, however, I will not be there on the actual event due to some conflicts with College Entrance Exams |
CAS Proposal Form 7 (Boy's Varsity Vball)
Student’s Name | Armand Mendoza | Supervisor’s Name | Mr. Tolentino | |||
Year 12 | Activity Name | Boys Varsity Volleyball | ||||
Date(s) / Duration of Activity | August - October | |||||
What is my past experience with this activity?
I started trying out for Boys Varsity Volleyball since the 9th grade. In my first year, I didn’t make the final cut for the team, but I had some exposure during the games. In my sophomore year, I made the ISAC team and was able to hone my skills even more, finishing the tournament at 4th place. Last year, I had a lot more playing time, and was able to improve significantly as a setter on the court. We placed 2nd in last year’s ISAC tournament. |
What new learning or skill do I hope to pick up or develop?
I hope to develop fluidity in my skills with setting, so that I may be able to set in different ways depending on my hitters, rather than just an “open” or a “quick” set. I also hope to develop my leadership and communication skills, and develop relationships with my teammates on and off the court, fulfilling my responsibilities of helping the younger ones improve their skills, with myself being one of the seniors on the team. |
How will this experience be different from that of the past?
The big difference is, first of all, it’s our (seniors) last shot at the prize! So I have to train hard and play my heart out during the games if our team wants to succeed in the ISAC tournament this year. Second, being one of the seniors on the team does put responsibility on me, as I have to be the example for the younger ones who will take my place in the coming years. Lastly, this year we’re traveling abroad for a tournament for the first time as a volleyball team. This should be a lot of fun, and also a helpful experience for the team and myself to improve our familiarity with one another on and off the court. |
How am I going to know if I am making progress in achieving the goal/s I have set?
Well my progress should show during the actual games we play as a team. If I’m meeting my goals, I should obviously be setting a lot better, with more control over the ball and making it easier for my hitters, and even more unpredictable for the opponents. Also, if I am communicating more, our team should be more aware of what’s happening on the court, preventing careless mistakes. |
Goals What is/are your goal/s for this activity? What do you hope to achieve?
Communicate more with my teammates, Be the “example” for the younger ones on the team, and improve the fluidity in my setting. |
Impact Who will benefit from this activity? How?
The team, including the coaches, and the school will hopefully benefit from this activity as it will build better friendships with one another and improve our physical fitness and if I do well in tournaments, the coaches will be pleased as it is a reflection of their coaching skills. The school will also benefit as we will represent them well in the ISAC tournament. |
Timeline Where, how often, and for how long will the activity take place? (specific dates whenever possible)
Practice is everyday from 4 – 5.30 pm, the tournament in Hong Kong is on September 2, and the ISAC Volleyball tournament is on October 5. |
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
NHS Individual Project: Agusuhin Elementary Bball Court
It's been roughly 4 months since I first got involved with the Agusuhin Village projects of the NHS. Agusuhin Village is a community that was relocated by the HanJin Corporation when they moved here a couple years back. They were badly affected by typhoons last year, and the people are very poor. They have a small school, made of wood, for elementary students. Each classroom is about half the size of ours at school, but crowded by more than 40 students in each room. It was clear that they needed help.
I visited them once, and played all sorts of games with them, distributed toothbrushes and toothpastes to the children, and gave out food to the people around the village. They've also visited Brent Subic once as well, when we played basketball and soccer with different kids from different grade levels for a whole morning, then fed them lunch at the cafeteria. I've grown to like these kids, and enjoy their company as they the more I see them, the more they recognize me and call me "Kuya" or "Kuya Armand."
Initially my individual project for NHS this year was to build a basketball court for the POCCH, however, I've turned my eyes to the kids at the Agusuhin Village, as the NHS is planning to adopt this village and to continue our support for them.
Planning
First, I needed money. Since the beginning of the year, the NHS has been doing bakesales, and we raised quite a lot of money. So with all of the NHS' members efforts, switching shifts daily, we sold enough to earn 10,000 pesos for my project. However, after gathering estimates from various sources, it was not enough. I needed roughly P15,000 more. I quickly wrote up proposal letters asking for money and distributed them to the PTA and some other parents. Eventually, I raised the money. I ordered all the materials and made arrangements to get the hardware to deliver it there, pitched some money in for buying the ring and the net, asked the maintenance for help in constructing the backboard, and may 20, 3 days before the day of the trip back to Agusuhin (for Yunnie and Ramona's project as well: to distribute school supplies to the students), I was all set. I was also able to invite a few volunteers specifically for my project, but sadly, only 3 showed up. (Jimmy, Izzy, and Lorenzo)
Initiation
We left school at around 8 am, picked up supplies at Ramona's house and got to Agusuhin around an hour later. When we got there, the trucks of supplies were not there yet, so we helped out with Ramona and Yunnie's project first. There was a contest, wherein we had to teach around 10-15 kids, how to sing basic nursery rhymes. For our group, it was B-I-N-G-O. It was fun, and we eventually got the students to follow. An hour later, the supplies arrived with the maintenance people and we quickly got to work. First, we measured out the area, put the planks of wood on the ground, and Kuya Julius and them nailed them in. Lorenzo, Jimmy and I had to first take out the roots of small trees out from the ground with a shovel and a piece of huge metal. After that, we started transferring buckets of sand from the huge mountain of sand, to where the cementing was gonna take place. After a while, it was getting hot, and it was nearing noon, and the maintenance people were working hard, so we went out to the city to get some food, there was no room inside the truck because of all the bags, so we just stayed at the trunk. It was super hot! and I knew it was a bad idea to stay there, but we had no choice, and we were getting burned. We arrived at Andoks, bought 5 whole chickens, and 30 pieces of rice for the maintenance and for ourselves. When we got back, the maintenance didn't want to eat yet, and they told us to go ahead, and so we did. After eating, we rested for about 20 minutes, then Izzy, Lorenzo, Jimmy, and I started transferring sand and gravel. It was HARD work. After about 20 trips back and forth, I could barely lift anything. So we took shifts in carrying, and loading the buckets. While we were doing this, the maintenance people were cleaning out the area, and nailing the wooden planks on the ground, getting it ready for pouring. At around 1 pm, Kuya Javier and us started mixing the cement. At first we watched because he didn't trust us with it yet, but after forcing them to let us try, we started mixing the cement ourselves, while Lorenzo and Jimmy were carrying the buckets and pouring it on the ground. Izzy was leveling the cement with a wooden plank (I don't know what the tool is called.) We did this for about an hour and a half or so, until the first batch of cement ran out. We all took a rest, and the maintenance ate their lunch. After getting back to work and mixing a whole new batch of sand, we heard some thunderstorms coming. So we quickly got the basketball court, placed it in the hole on the ground and got it ready for cementing, before it started raining. From then on, we started working fast, Izzy and I took turns in pouring the cement and leveling it, Lorenzo and Jimmy were carrying loaded buckets to us, while Kuya Javier and some other guys were mixing the cement. After a while, it started raining and everybody ran to the school for cover. We waited for about 30 minutes, until Lorenzo, Jimmy, Izzy and I just didn't care about the rain anymore and started working again, mixing the cement, pouring it, everything. The maintenance didn't join us at this time, and they were laughing at us, because we weren't really pro at it, but after a while Kuya Javier joined us and started helping us despite the rain, and later on the other maintenance as well. At around 4.30 am, we finished the second batch of cement, and everyone was getting pretty tired. The court was up, and 1/3 of the area was cemented. Lorenzo, Jimmy, Izzy, and I were already really, really filthy, with cement, dirt, and sweat and we needed to rinse off, so Kuya Julius told us to rinse of at the sea, so we quickly ran off to the beach and rinsed off and skipped some stones for a while. Then we went back, everyone was packed, we cleared the place out, and we were set to go back home. However, on the way back, the van couldn't make it up the hill because it was really muddy from the rain. We were stuck for a good 30 minutes, and got help from the local community in pushing the van, shoveling sand and placing it on top of the muddy road for traction, and we even deflated the tires. After a while, we got passed the obstacle only to face another hill which we could not pass through, the same thing happened again, but this time it took faster to get through. On the way back, we all passed out in the van as we were all EXHAUSTED. Now I finally knew how hard it is to be a construction worker. I got home, looked at myself in the mirror and I was happy from the outcome of the day, but we weren't done yet. We have to come back probably 2 more times to get the job done, and lastly, I was sunburned.
I visited them once, and played all sorts of games with them, distributed toothbrushes and toothpastes to the children, and gave out food to the people around the village. They've also visited Brent Subic once as well, when we played basketball and soccer with different kids from different grade levels for a whole morning, then fed them lunch at the cafeteria. I've grown to like these kids, and enjoy their company as they the more I see them, the more they recognize me and call me "Kuya" or "Kuya Armand."
Initially my individual project for NHS this year was to build a basketball court for the POCCH, however, I've turned my eyes to the kids at the Agusuhin Village, as the NHS is planning to adopt this village and to continue our support for them.
Planning
First, I needed money. Since the beginning of the year, the NHS has been doing bakesales, and we raised quite a lot of money. So with all of the NHS' members efforts, switching shifts daily, we sold enough to earn 10,000 pesos for my project. However, after gathering estimates from various sources, it was not enough. I needed roughly P15,000 more. I quickly wrote up proposal letters asking for money and distributed them to the PTA and some other parents. Eventually, I raised the money. I ordered all the materials and made arrangements to get the hardware to deliver it there, pitched some money in for buying the ring and the net, asked the maintenance for help in constructing the backboard, and may 20, 3 days before the day of the trip back to Agusuhin (for Yunnie and Ramona's project as well: to distribute school supplies to the students), I was all set. I was also able to invite a few volunteers specifically for my project, but sadly, only 3 showed up. (Jimmy, Izzy, and Lorenzo)
Initiation
We left school at around 8 am, picked up supplies at Ramona's house and got to Agusuhin around an hour later. When we got there, the trucks of supplies were not there yet, so we helped out with Ramona and Yunnie's project first. There was a contest, wherein we had to teach around 10-15 kids, how to sing basic nursery rhymes. For our group, it was B-I-N-G-O. It was fun, and we eventually got the students to follow. An hour later, the supplies arrived with the maintenance people and we quickly got to work. First, we measured out the area, put the planks of wood on the ground, and Kuya Julius and them nailed them in. Lorenzo, Jimmy and I had to first take out the roots of small trees out from the ground with a shovel and a piece of huge metal. After that, we started transferring buckets of sand from the huge mountain of sand, to where the cementing was gonna take place. After a while, it was getting hot, and it was nearing noon, and the maintenance people were working hard, so we went out to the city to get some food, there was no room inside the truck because of all the bags, so we just stayed at the trunk. It was super hot! and I knew it was a bad idea to stay there, but we had no choice, and we were getting burned. We arrived at Andoks, bought 5 whole chickens, and 30 pieces of rice for the maintenance and for ourselves. When we got back, the maintenance didn't want to eat yet, and they told us to go ahead, and so we did. After eating, we rested for about 20 minutes, then Izzy, Lorenzo, Jimmy, and I started transferring sand and gravel. It was HARD work. After about 20 trips back and forth, I could barely lift anything. So we took shifts in carrying, and loading the buckets. While we were doing this, the maintenance people were cleaning out the area, and nailing the wooden planks on the ground, getting it ready for pouring. At around 1 pm, Kuya Javier and us started mixing the cement. At first we watched because he didn't trust us with it yet, but after forcing them to let us try, we started mixing the cement ourselves, while Lorenzo and Jimmy were carrying the buckets and pouring it on the ground. Izzy was leveling the cement with a wooden plank (I don't know what the tool is called.) We did this for about an hour and a half or so, until the first batch of cement ran out. We all took a rest, and the maintenance ate their lunch. After getting back to work and mixing a whole new batch of sand, we heard some thunderstorms coming. So we quickly got the basketball court, placed it in the hole on the ground and got it ready for cementing, before it started raining. From then on, we started working fast, Izzy and I took turns in pouring the cement and leveling it, Lorenzo and Jimmy were carrying loaded buckets to us, while Kuya Javier and some other guys were mixing the cement. After a while, it started raining and everybody ran to the school for cover. We waited for about 30 minutes, until Lorenzo, Jimmy, Izzy and I just didn't care about the rain anymore and started working again, mixing the cement, pouring it, everything. The maintenance didn't join us at this time, and they were laughing at us, because we weren't really pro at it, but after a while Kuya Javier joined us and started helping us despite the rain, and later on the other maintenance as well. At around 4.30 am, we finished the second batch of cement, and everyone was getting pretty tired. The court was up, and 1/3 of the area was cemented. Lorenzo, Jimmy, Izzy, and I were already really, really filthy, with cement, dirt, and sweat and we needed to rinse off, so Kuya Julius told us to rinse of at the sea, so we quickly ran off to the beach and rinsed off and skipped some stones for a while. Then we went back, everyone was packed, we cleared the place out, and we were set to go back home. However, on the way back, the van couldn't make it up the hill because it was really muddy from the rain. We were stuck for a good 30 minutes, and got help from the local community in pushing the van, shoveling sand and placing it on top of the muddy road for traction, and we even deflated the tires. After a while, we got passed the obstacle only to face another hill which we could not pass through, the same thing happened again, but this time it took faster to get through. On the way back, we all passed out in the van as we were all EXHAUSTED. Now I finally knew how hard it is to be a construction worker. I got home, looked at myself in the mirror and I was happy from the outcome of the day, but we weren't done yet. We have to come back probably 2 more times to get the job done, and lastly, I was sunburned.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Reflection: ISAC Boy's Basketball
DIRECTIONS: Within two weeks of completion of an activity, attached a typed Reflective Essay with this form to your CAS Coordinator. The reflection should be in essay format with a minimum of 150 words in length. Make sure to attach this page to your reflection essay. Your essay should explore your experience. Consider the following questions:
Describe the activity. What did you do at each stage? Include dates where relevant.
What did you hope to accomplish by this activity? What did you actually accomplish?
What difficulties did you encounter? Did you feel at any stage that you were failing to
achieve what you wanted from this activity?
What did you hope to learn from this activity, about yourself, about others, or about
academic subjects? (For example: self-confidence, modesty, curiosity, objectivity, new
skills, determination and the ability to meet challenges).
Did anyone help you during this activity? If so, describe the help given.
How will you provide thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress,
reporting on this activity?
Does this activity lend itself to reflection on outcomes and personal learning
How did you record what you have done for this activity? Please provide evidence that you have actually done it.
ISAC Boy's Basketball was the last event in this year's ISAC sports tournament. Our Boy's Basketball team was confident that we can place 3rd place and above this year after losing to Baguio by only 8 points, and they were the strongest team out there, next to the host school, BSM. After our arrival, we had the opportunity to observe the other teams warm up and shoot around, and get the feel for the courts. Our coaches were confident that we would do well this year. That night I went home to my host's giant mansion with AJ, my teammate who I was partnered with. We had a good dinner, and slept early, although it was hard, because we were both really excited to play.
The next morning, after the briefing of the BSM atheltics director and the team picture taking, the first game had started and were out at the warm up courts because we played the 2nd game of the day against Brent Manila, who we lost to by 5 points when we went to their home court at Brent South a week before ISAC, a game we SHOULDVE won if it weren't for my stupid last minute heroics, our should I say selfishness, wherein I took a shot with 20 seconds left on the shot clock, when we were leading by 2 points. Javier and I were both out of the game by the last 20 seconds of the 4th quarter, and Brent Manila was able to tie the game pushing it to overtime, without the 2 most aggressive scorers on the team. William on his own, took control of the game, scored 8 points in overtime, but still couldn't pull off a win. In short, we knew we could beat this team. After the 1st half, we were up by 4 points. But after bad passes, missed shots, slow help defense and maybe the pressure of being in an ISAC game, we lost to Brent Manila by 5 points, 24-19. Not to mention, an obvious lack of teamwork between our 2 coaches. I could tell, our team was devastated by this loss, as prior to the game, we were confident in pulling off a big win against this team. It hurt to loss to this team, but it was a reality, and we could do nothing but play harder in the next game against CIS. After lunch, we played Cebu International School. They had only 2 players who could really play in the team, but all of them fought hard. They had a couple of soccer players on the team that I knew of, but they just as hard or maybe even harder in basketball than in soccer. I asked some of the guys from BSM who faced CIS before us, and despite pulling off a 20 point win against them, they said that they were really tough and physical. But despite all of that, we started off really well against CIS. We were up at the end of the 1st half but they were only a couple of shots behind. I for one, was not having a great offensive game, I was missing my shots, and I couldn't run any plays and I was getting a lot of turnovers. During the 2nd half, we still kept the lead. However, our team was struggling on defense, we were lazy, we weren't closing out. They managed to shoot 2 open three pointers in a row because of our poor defense. By the 4th quarter, they managed to get an impossible and1 shot which gave them the lead. Our team was getting nervous, and I could tell that we were scared to lose to CIS. We still fought hard though, but they fought harder. It seemed obvious that even if our team was more skilled, they had more heart than us. We ended up with a disappointing 2 points loss against CIS. This loss hurt even more than the 1st game, because we KNEW we were better than them skillwise, but they won because they fought harder than us, and I don't know what it is but I think we were kind of intimidated by them or were scared to get aggressive against them which turned the game around in the last 5 minutes of the game.
Our last game was against BSM, a great all around team. They were good passers, shooters, and most importantly great defenders. They knew how to play together because their team practices all year round with the same coach in and out of school. Our game against them was pretty one sided, but we played a great game. They were just way more experienced than us, and their ball movement and shooting was excellent. We were again faced with the press and sometimes we broke it, sometimes we didn't. I got my game back on, making my open 3's, giving the ball around and calling plays, even if it didn't all work as expected. We lost our game against BSM by around 20 points, but at least we knew we were getting better and our feel to the ISAC games were improving. By the end of the first day we had 0 wins and 3 losses, luckily our girls were doing great, so that kind of made things better for the Brent Subic representatives.
Our second day in the tournament would determine if we were gonna make it to the semi finals or not. We had to win all our games this day. The first game was against FAM (Faith Academy Mindanao.) They had 2 shooters on their team, and they had one star player who was aggressive to the hoop. We HAD to win this game. We started off great, we were making our shots, our passing was alright, and we were running plays. The only bad part was our defense, we were weak under the ring as usual. We were leading after the 1st half, and we just needed to keep this up. During the 4th quarter, however, they were starting to catch up to us, and eventually took the lead, we got the lead back, but it was a really close game. We ended up beating FAM with 2 points and got our first win of the tournament. Our second game was against SISC - Southville. They were the defending champions, but their team this year was really young. Their ISAC team last year became their A Team who we faced and lost to by only 6 points in a pickup game a week before ISAC. Their players were young, but they were smart, and they knew how to pass the ball. Their teamwork was great, and they knew what to do on the court. Their plays were ran, ran correctly and continuously in all their games. Now it was our turn to face them. We started off alright, as in most games we play. We were again ahead after the 1st half. However during the 3rd and 4th quarter our defense collapsed. They probably scored around 12 points by open shots under the ring. Their wasn't much help defense, or defense at all, going on at the post. Their plays confused our big men and they had open shots under the ring. We again died down in the last few minutes and lost to Southville by around 5 points. This was another disappointing loss. Our hopes for making it to the Semi Finals were crushed as we had to face the undefeated team of Baguio who was beating every time by 15 points or more, including BSM who beat us by 20 points. However, we had to keep our heads high, and keep playing the game. There's no room for giving up and beating the potential Champions would be an honor, as we did in the ISAC tournament 2 years ago where we gave Brent Manila, the champions that year, their only loss in the tournament.
The next day, our team was sore, some players had some minor injuries, and our morale was low, but we had to fight. This might be our last game in the tournament, and the last game of the seniors, so all 4 seniors started this game with me. We had to play our heart out. Baguio was cruising through this tournament, and we were determined to give them their first real fight. We've played them before, and we know we have a chance against them. Unfortunately, they have gotten a lot better, and more aggressive, and they were prepared to defend their "no-loss" title, so we were down 18-0 in the first quarter. They were much more physical and their defense was intimidating. During the 2nd and 3rd quarter, their bench players played, so we managed to score a few points here and there. I made some shots, and I moved the ball around a lot, especially to the seniors. Our seniors that game gave it everything. I could tell. They were sprinting the whole time, and they fought hard for every rebound and every ball. In the 4th quarter, our real starters faced Baguio's starters. We had a good battle, but Baguio proved to be much stronger and played much smarter basketball than us. They made their shots but their wasn't really much teamwork. They just had 5 great individual players who all dominated. We lost to Baguio by 20 points or so but I believe that this is the game where we really gave it all. We respected the Baguio team, and I was really inspired to reach their level of basketball. Coach Crudo told us that it took them 4 years to get to this level. They were once like us, but because they worked hard for it during the season and during the off season, they were now the #1 team in the ISAC Boy's Basketball tournament this year.
Meanwhile, our girls were doing great, they made it to the semi finals, and beat FAM to make it to the Finals. Unfortunately, they lost to the more experienced and much bigger BSM team placing 2nd in this years ISAC Girl's football tournament. After that, everyone was excited for the Basketball Finals game between BSM and Brent Baguio. It was intense. BSM was playing well, making their shots, getting steals through good defense and traps and Baguio was doing great as well with their 5 starters dominating on the court. By the end of the 1st half, Baguio was down 10 points and none of Baguio's bench players have played yet. During the 3rd quarter, their best player, Sung An had a scary fall, and was taken out of the game. Baguio was still trailing behind by 5-8 points. After a few minutes, Sung got back into the game limping! He still played even though it was obvious that he was really hurt. He still ended up scoring most of the points for the remaining minutes of the game! This to me, showed a lot of character, and passion, and heart for the game of basketball. For him to do that really inspired me to work hard so I can one day make it to that point, and to have that feeling of being in the Finals and sacrificing everything I can to win the game. Baguio was catching up, and were behind only 4 points, with only a minute remaining. Baguio fought hard, but they only had 5 players. BSM had 10. Only 1 Bench player played for Baguio for about 2 minutes while Sung had to get taped after his hard fall. BSM's bench could also shoot and play defense and pass, unlike Baguio, so it was obvious that Baguio's players were deteriorating and getting exhausted. Sung An, a great freethrow shooter probably around (80%) missed around 15 free throws in that game. In the end, Baguio lost to BSM by 6 points with a score of 60 - 54. It was a great game to watch. I was really inspired by it, and hopefully my teammates were. I learned to play under pressure, improve my passing and shooting skills, and I got to know my teammates, and how they play, a little bit better. As this year's team captain, I learned how to be an example to my teammates, to tell them what's right and wrong and how they can improve, even if I, myself make a lot of mistakes. I've learned how to talk to them in a nicer way, rather than screaming at them on the court and I've learned how to boost the team morale up by talking to them and telling them that the game isn't over until the final buzzer sounds. Even though we didn't do so well in this ISAC tournament, I learned a lot about the game, and how much more I can get better and how much more our team could improve. We have a long way ahead of us, and hopefully next year, we can bring home the gold!
Describe the activity. What did you do at each stage? Include dates where relevant.
What did you hope to accomplish by this activity? What did you actually accomplish?
What difficulties did you encounter? Did you feel at any stage that you were failing to
achieve what you wanted from this activity?
What did you hope to learn from this activity, about yourself, about others, or about
academic subjects? (For example: self-confidence, modesty, curiosity, objectivity, new
skills, determination and the ability to meet challenges).
Did anyone help you during this activity? If so, describe the help given.
How will you provide thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress,
reporting on this activity?
Does this activity lend itself to reflection on outcomes and personal learning
How did you record what you have done for this activity? Please provide evidence that you have actually done it.
ISAC Boy's Basketball was the last event in this year's ISAC sports tournament. Our Boy's Basketball team was confident that we can place 3rd place and above this year after losing to Baguio by only 8 points, and they were the strongest team out there, next to the host school, BSM. After our arrival, we had the opportunity to observe the other teams warm up and shoot around, and get the feel for the courts. Our coaches were confident that we would do well this year. That night I went home to my host's giant mansion with AJ, my teammate who I was partnered with. We had a good dinner, and slept early, although it was hard, because we were both really excited to play.
The next morning, after the briefing of the BSM atheltics director and the team picture taking, the first game had started and were out at the warm up courts because we played the 2nd game of the day against Brent Manila, who we lost to by 5 points when we went to their home court at Brent South a week before ISAC, a game we SHOULDVE won if it weren't for my stupid last minute heroics, our should I say selfishness, wherein I took a shot with 20 seconds left on the shot clock, when we were leading by 2 points. Javier and I were both out of the game by the last 20 seconds of the 4th quarter, and Brent Manila was able to tie the game pushing it to overtime, without the 2 most aggressive scorers on the team. William on his own, took control of the game, scored 8 points in overtime, but still couldn't pull off a win. In short, we knew we could beat this team. After the 1st half, we were up by 4 points. But after bad passes, missed shots, slow help defense and maybe the pressure of being in an ISAC game, we lost to Brent Manila by 5 points, 24-19. Not to mention, an obvious lack of teamwork between our 2 coaches. I could tell, our team was devastated by this loss, as prior to the game, we were confident in pulling off a big win against this team. It hurt to loss to this team, but it was a reality, and we could do nothing but play harder in the next game against CIS. After lunch, we played Cebu International School. They had only 2 players who could really play in the team, but all of them fought hard. They had a couple of soccer players on the team that I knew of, but they just as hard or maybe even harder in basketball than in soccer. I asked some of the guys from BSM who faced CIS before us, and despite pulling off a 20 point win against them, they said that they were really tough and physical. But despite all of that, we started off really well against CIS. We were up at the end of the 1st half but they were only a couple of shots behind. I for one, was not having a great offensive game, I was missing my shots, and I couldn't run any plays and I was getting a lot of turnovers. During the 2nd half, we still kept the lead. However, our team was struggling on defense, we were lazy, we weren't closing out. They managed to shoot 2 open three pointers in a row because of our poor defense. By the 4th quarter, they managed to get an impossible and1 shot which gave them the lead. Our team was getting nervous, and I could tell that we were scared to lose to CIS. We still fought hard though, but they fought harder. It seemed obvious that even if our team was more skilled, they had more heart than us. We ended up with a disappointing 2 points loss against CIS. This loss hurt even more than the 1st game, because we KNEW we were better than them skillwise, but they won because they fought harder than us, and I don't know what it is but I think we were kind of intimidated by them or were scared to get aggressive against them which turned the game around in the last 5 minutes of the game.
Our last game was against BSM, a great all around team. They were good passers, shooters, and most importantly great defenders. They knew how to play together because their team practices all year round with the same coach in and out of school. Our game against them was pretty one sided, but we played a great game. They were just way more experienced than us, and their ball movement and shooting was excellent. We were again faced with the press and sometimes we broke it, sometimes we didn't. I got my game back on, making my open 3's, giving the ball around and calling plays, even if it didn't all work as expected. We lost our game against BSM by around 20 points, but at least we knew we were getting better and our feel to the ISAC games were improving. By the end of the first day we had 0 wins and 3 losses, luckily our girls were doing great, so that kind of made things better for the Brent Subic representatives.
Our second day in the tournament would determine if we were gonna make it to the semi finals or not. We had to win all our games this day. The first game was against FAM (Faith Academy Mindanao.) They had 2 shooters on their team, and they had one star player who was aggressive to the hoop. We HAD to win this game. We started off great, we were making our shots, our passing was alright, and we were running plays. The only bad part was our defense, we were weak under the ring as usual. We were leading after the 1st half, and we just needed to keep this up. During the 4th quarter, however, they were starting to catch up to us, and eventually took the lead, we got the lead back, but it was a really close game. We ended up beating FAM with 2 points and got our first win of the tournament. Our second game was against SISC - Southville. They were the defending champions, but their team this year was really young. Their ISAC team last year became their A Team who we faced and lost to by only 6 points in a pickup game a week before ISAC. Their players were young, but they were smart, and they knew how to pass the ball. Their teamwork was great, and they knew what to do on the court. Their plays were ran, ran correctly and continuously in all their games. Now it was our turn to face them. We started off alright, as in most games we play. We were again ahead after the 1st half. However during the 3rd and 4th quarter our defense collapsed. They probably scored around 12 points by open shots under the ring. Their wasn't much help defense, or defense at all, going on at the post. Their plays confused our big men and they had open shots under the ring. We again died down in the last few minutes and lost to Southville by around 5 points. This was another disappointing loss. Our hopes for making it to the Semi Finals were crushed as we had to face the undefeated team of Baguio who was beating every time by 15 points or more, including BSM who beat us by 20 points. However, we had to keep our heads high, and keep playing the game. There's no room for giving up and beating the potential Champions would be an honor, as we did in the ISAC tournament 2 years ago where we gave Brent Manila, the champions that year, their only loss in the tournament.
The next day, our team was sore, some players had some minor injuries, and our morale was low, but we had to fight. This might be our last game in the tournament, and the last game of the seniors, so all 4 seniors started this game with me. We had to play our heart out. Baguio was cruising through this tournament, and we were determined to give them their first real fight. We've played them before, and we know we have a chance against them. Unfortunately, they have gotten a lot better, and more aggressive, and they were prepared to defend their "no-loss" title, so we were down 18-0 in the first quarter. They were much more physical and their defense was intimidating. During the 2nd and 3rd quarter, their bench players played, so we managed to score a few points here and there. I made some shots, and I moved the ball around a lot, especially to the seniors. Our seniors that game gave it everything. I could tell. They were sprinting the whole time, and they fought hard for every rebound and every ball. In the 4th quarter, our real starters faced Baguio's starters. We had a good battle, but Baguio proved to be much stronger and played much smarter basketball than us. They made their shots but their wasn't really much teamwork. They just had 5 great individual players who all dominated. We lost to Baguio by 20 points or so but I believe that this is the game where we really gave it all. We respected the Baguio team, and I was really inspired to reach their level of basketball. Coach Crudo told us that it took them 4 years to get to this level. They were once like us, but because they worked hard for it during the season and during the off season, they were now the #1 team in the ISAC Boy's Basketball tournament this year.
Meanwhile, our girls were doing great, they made it to the semi finals, and beat FAM to make it to the Finals. Unfortunately, they lost to the more experienced and much bigger BSM team placing 2nd in this years ISAC Girl's football tournament. After that, everyone was excited for the Basketball Finals game between BSM and Brent Baguio. It was intense. BSM was playing well, making their shots, getting steals through good defense and traps and Baguio was doing great as well with their 5 starters dominating on the court. By the end of the 1st half, Baguio was down 10 points and none of Baguio's bench players have played yet. During the 3rd quarter, their best player, Sung An had a scary fall, and was taken out of the game. Baguio was still trailing behind by 5-8 points. After a few minutes, Sung got back into the game limping! He still played even though it was obvious that he was really hurt. He still ended up scoring most of the points for the remaining minutes of the game! This to me, showed a lot of character, and passion, and heart for the game of basketball. For him to do that really inspired me to work hard so I can one day make it to that point, and to have that feeling of being in the Finals and sacrificing everything I can to win the game. Baguio was catching up, and were behind only 4 points, with only a minute remaining. Baguio fought hard, but they only had 5 players. BSM had 10. Only 1 Bench player played for Baguio for about 2 minutes while Sung had to get taped after his hard fall. BSM's bench could also shoot and play defense and pass, unlike Baguio, so it was obvious that Baguio's players were deteriorating and getting exhausted. Sung An, a great freethrow shooter probably around (80%) missed around 15 free throws in that game. In the end, Baguio lost to BSM by 6 points with a score of 60 - 54. It was a great game to watch. I was really inspired by it, and hopefully my teammates were. I learned to play under pressure, improve my passing and shooting skills, and I got to know my teammates, and how they play, a little bit better. As this year's team captain, I learned how to be an example to my teammates, to tell them what's right and wrong and how they can improve, even if I, myself make a lot of mistakes. I've learned how to talk to them in a nicer way, rather than screaming at them on the court and I've learned how to boost the team morale up by talking to them and telling them that the game isn't over until the final buzzer sounds. Even though we didn't do so well in this ISAC tournament, I learned a lot about the game, and how much more I can get better and how much more our team could improve. We have a long way ahead of us, and hopefully next year, we can bring home the gold!
(A)(S) Journal Entry #2 [Boy's Basketball Varsity]
The tournament in Baguio was a good learning experience for the team and myself. It was our first time to play away from home and I was excited.
Our first game was against a local team from Baguio (wearing green/white) We started off well with a 2 point lead after the 1st quarter. Our defense was great, and we had no turnovers. However, during the 2nd quarter, they put a press on us which changed the game completely. Some of my teammates, including myself occasionally had turnovers here and there because of the press. Sometimes it was because no one came to help and sometimes it was just because we threw the ball away due to panic. It was hard and we were down around 12 points after the 3rd quarter. Also, for some reason I felt really really exhausted already so I asked to be subbed out. This was unusual for me because I thought I was actually pretty fit and I haven't gotten tired during a game all season to the point where I needed to be subbed out. I don't know for sure if it was because of the higher altitude of Baguio or because we were just playing a way too fast pace. During the 4th quarter, we caught up to being around 5 points behind, but it was all too late.
Our second game was against Brent Baguio. We saw their game against the regional champion team, and they looked very intimidating as they won by a 0.3 second three pointer. I admit, I was a little nervous for this game as Baguio and Subic's Boy's team has always had a rivalry in ISAC competition including this year's ISAC volleyball tournament. We held them well during the 1st half of the game. The game started off with their top player, Sung An, getting the ball from the jumpball, dribbling and going for the drive, but getting rejected by me! I was pretty proud of myself for that. Our defense was still good, but our post players had trouble containing Buckley, their prime offense under the ring. We ran a couple of new plays, designed by our temporary head coach, Dr G, because Coach Crudo couldn't make it. The plays were successful and it made the giant Baguio coach furious! We trailed behind Baguio by around 5 points after the 3rd quarter as Javier and I were on fire. I was playing a good game, making 3's from every spot, and passing the ball around, usually ending up with Javier to finish or get to the free throw line. On the 4th quarter, Baguio started pressing again, we lost the ball again a couple of times, but we kept fighting. Javier and I continued to lead the team on offense but we ended up losing to baguio by 8 points. It was a great game and Dr G said that it was the best game that he's seen me play. I managed to score 22 points and 8 assists - almost reached my goal of a double double! (but still around 7 turnovers or so)
Our last game was against the regional champion team (wearing blue/white.) Dr G wanted us to have fun in this game and just play our game. He started the "asian" team as he called it, with William, Adam, David, Kevin, and Stin. We were down 10-4 in the first 5 minutes, but it seemed like they were having fun, especially because it was our first game with support from our girl's team. After, the obvious mismatch between the players, Dr G replaced the "asian team" with the "all filipino team (except for Louie) with me, AJ, Javier, Cyron, and Louie. We started doing something right on offense, but our defense was just crap. They were way more experienced than us, and it seemed like they've been playing together for quite some time. I personally disliked this team because they started their bench for the first half, which were still pretty good. Then during the 2nd half, their first team came on. Their first team was really frustrating and annoying. They trash talked me and the other Filipinos in tagalog, and made fun of our foreign players. They were very disrespectful, especially their point guard who was in my face the whole time he was on. We had some pushing and slapping, and elbowing going on behind the ref and everytime I would do something to him to get an advantage, he would act and fall down and complain to the refs. I really did not like playing against this team, but I knew that it happens a lot in the game of basketball especially if a team knows their good. We lost the game by around 20 points after a barrage of three point shots by the opposing team.
Overall, the trip to Baguio was a success, and I believe that it really improved our team's skills and teamwork, and let us realize how it feels like to play with pressure. We saw better players/teams than us, and hopefully inspired to reach that level as well. We're all getting better.
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